Set In Stone
by Kiko-Butt
Summary: He had known from the beginning that he could never keep her. But, in the beginning he had not even wanted to. That had changed, slowly, like sweet honey dripping from a spoon. Godric/OC
1. All the King's Men

He had known from the beginning that he could never keep her. In the beginning though, he had not even wanted to. That had changed, slowly, like sweet honey dripping from a spoon.

It had begun suddenly. She invaded his life with all the finesse of a bull in a china shop. To be fair it had not been by her choice, but neither had it been by his. They were brought together by a series of events so random in their occurrence it was comical.

Their love was not one brought on by the heat of the moment. It had been built on friendship, trust and mutual admiration. The passion came much later, when all his guards were down and he no longer felt the need to ignore the obvious.

When the simmer of lust finally turned into a slow burn and then into a raging fire the likes of which he could not recall ever feeling before, he already loved her.

He had never imagined that it would be this way. He thought that time would be the one to rip her from his side. But, it had been her choice to willingly leave him.

And what was he to say? He had never been left in such a way. All he could do was sit under the stars and go over their last meeting in his mind, over and over again, fiddling with the medallion that had started it all.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief the King of Texas was not an idiot. But, he did in fact play the part very well. The meeting tonight would verify this belief for Godric.

The sheriffs of Texas had gathered on this night in their regent's compound, all fourteen of them, well, except one.

"Marshal is late," Annabel Debreux complained, while filing a nail. The thirteen on-time sheriffs were all sitting in various positions around the parlor room. The news that the Sheriff of Area Three was late did not come as a shock to most.

In one corner, the Sheriff of Area Eleven, Joaquin Rea looked up from his game of chess with the Sheriff of Area Six. "He is always late, what do you expect from a coward such as him." Godric watched as everyone in the room tensed slightly. They truly did not wish to hear Rea go on another rant about Marshal. Rea had been turned during the Mexican American war. Marshal had been a young vampire at the time and had taken great pleasure in reeking habit on both sides. He had killed many of Rea's men. Like most vampires Rea had disregarded most of his human loyalties when he was made vampire he had not forgotten the thing in the night that slaughtered those in his charge.

It really was bad luck that they had both ended up sheriffs within the same state.

"Rea no one wants to hear it," his chess partner said in a slow, calm voice. The Sheriff of Area Six, was a Native and the oldest sheriff in appearance, having been turned when she was probably in her fifties. She went by the name of Blue Leaf, though it was largely believed that this was a nickname. She was thought to be one of the first vampires made in the New World and her age was unknown. Of the sheriffs she was second only to Godric in physical strength. Rea glared at his chess partner, who simply raised an eyebrow in return. "Marshal will come when he wishes to come and not a moment sooner, we all know this. He is after all, the king's favorite."

"You mean his current bitch boy," snorted Leon Anderson. The Sheriff of Area Two was the youngest in physical appearance, even younger than Godric himself who looked to be only in his late teens or early twenties. He sat closest to Godric near the fire. The teenage vampire had an attitude to match his physical appearance and a tongue that often got him into trouble. The king had attempted to court Leon, shortly after Leon had been appointed sheriff. The dark haired and slightly angelic looking sheriff had made it abundantly clear to the king that his tastes lay elsewhere.

Marshal, who was also young in appearance and could be described as quite handsome had however accepted the king's advances and all that they had to bring him. Leon turned his head to Godric who had not looked up from his book since the conversation started.

"Did the king offer you the position of Royal Fuck Toy when you took your area? You are just as much his type as Marshal or me," Leon crassly questioned.

Annabel actually threw back her blonde head and cackled at the question, "Don't be stupid boy. Godric was sheriff long before Christophe took the throne and he has nothing to offer Godric that Godric could not get for himself." Her eyes took on a wicked shine as she added, "Also, our state relic takes no pleasure in the flesh, so you see there is very little to entice him to the king's bed." The blonde's cat like grey eyes now focused on the ancient vampire's form. The Sheriff of Area Nine's focus did not waver from the pages in front of him.

Leon growled at the blonde for the boy comment, but her attention had already found a new bauble to play with. "Pray tell us Godric, how long has it been since anyone had the honor?"

Rea's snort of humor quickly turned into a groan of defeat as he noticed that he had fallen into Blue Leaf's trap and the game was over.

Godric didn't fail to notice that the four sheriffs around him now seemed focused on his person. "I hardly think such a topic would interest you Annabel," he responded with little emotion.

"Ahhh what's the matter Goddy? Too old to enjoy a good bloody suck and fuck?" Leon crooned at him. "I hope that I don't become as damn boring as you are in my old age."

Blue Leaf rolled her eyes as she stood, "I don't think you will have to worry about that boy. I highly doubt you will see past your 200th year."

Leon rose with vampiric speed and a snarl, "No one asked you Granny!"

Blue Leaf simply smiled at the far younger and far more immature vampire.

A vampire servant interrupted the quarrel with an unnecessary cough to get the attention of the room. "Dinner is served."

* * *

Godric arrived back at his nest two hours before the sun rose.

Isabel, his favorite lieutenant was the only one up and about. "Where is Stan?" Godric asked automatically.

Isabel's smile at Godric's return dropped from her face. "Out with some of his ridiculous cowboy friends. He said he would not die for the day here." Godric nodded hoping that he would not be cleaning up a mess come nightfall. Though Stan was incredibly loyal, he was unpredictable and had grown more so as of late. "This came for you tonight," she said as she held out a small package for him. "How was the meeting with the king?"

Taking the package Godric sat down and informed his second of the goings on of the Texas court. Marshal had not been late as everyone had thought. He had in fact met the True Death. Using his position of sheriff and lover to the king, he had been attempting to plan a coup d'état. The king had kept his execution a secret for weeks, hoping to ferret out any supporters of the coup. When the venture had proven fruitless he had convened the sheriffs to inform them in person and watch their reactions to the news carefully.

"Did you notice anything amiss with how the others reacted?" Isabel questioned.

"Rea. He was not as pleased as I thought he would be with Marshal's death, but who knows, that might mean nothing. Annabel already knew. She remarked upon his absence earlier in the night and her reaction was a little overdone," Godric said.

"Do you think either of them were part of it?"

"If they were both supporting Marshal I don't think they knew of each other, otherwise Annabel would have informed Rea of Marshal's death. Not having his allies know about each other until the time was right would have been very clever of Marshal. Too clever."

Isabel looked slightly alarmed, "You believe he wasn't the leader."

Godric nodded. "I believe the king thinks so as well. Thought, he made it seem quite the opposite tonight. He also informed us that he will be taking a tour of all the areas. He will be here in Dallas three weeks from now."

"Will you inform him of your observations," Isabel asked.

"If he asks me my opinion, I will give it, but I do not wish to be involved in such games," Godric said as he stood. "Do not mention any of this to Stan. Though I don't believe he would divulge it purposefully, he has a loose tongue at times."

Isabel pursed her lips at the mention of her opposite's character flaws. She truly didn't understand why Godric kept him as a lieutenant. The ancient vampire bid his second a good rest and made his way up to his light proof rooms for the coming dawn.

Resisting the sun's pull in order to read a few reports, Godric's eyes flickered to the package on his desk. Pulling the plain brown paper apart he found a hand written note and black velvet jewelry box.

The note read:

_I truly wonder what you do with all the gifts I have given you over the years. I know you will never wear this, but I found it on my travels and it was decidedly you. Thank you again for bestowing upon me this life. _

_Forever Yours_

Nora. His second child had started this rather amusing tradition after he had released her. Every year she sent a token on her making day, though Godric never thanked her and never responded in kind. He was uncaring of what the box truly held, but Godric could not help opening it. He enjoyed the sentiment behind her gifts.

Inside and sitting upon black satin was a blood red stone set into an ornate gold medallion. If he was an appreciator of such things he would have found it exquisite, but he was not and he did not. All the same, he set the box down and on the shelf he reserved for all of the things Nora had given him in the past ten years. Every decade he removed them and started afresh.

It was the ninth year of the cycle, and next year the shelf would be cleared out. The medallion that Nora believed was decidedly him would only get to spend a year in his office.

Well, it would have.

Godric died for the day, not knowing that the happenings of the night would lead him down a very different path than the one he had planned for himself.

* * *

Notes: To everyone who read Deep Flame, I am really sorry because I don't plan on continuing it and I will be taking it down shortly. I thank everyone who encouraged me with their reviews. Reading them now still brings a smile to my face. My reason for abandoning it is simple. I don't like it. I have gone through some major changes and have found that I no longer care for the way I have written the characters and would rather not try to salvage it. I might reuse some elements in it for another story I have planned, but not until this one is finished. That's right finished!

I will finish this story I swear.

This story will be slowly paced and chapters will average about 2000 words. My goal is to update twice a week.

Also I will not be including anything from canon past the fourth season. Except Nora, because I kinda love her. I will be tweaking her character as I will not be doing anything with Lilith as I just reject that whole thing. I haven't seen season six, because I no longer live in an area with HBO available, and yes such a place exists.

So I hope those of you interested will leave a comment. They make me smile.


	2. Under Pressure

Roxana Tahan had been told since she was little that the supernatural was very real. For as long as she could remember her father had told her stories, stories, which were fantastical. They were stories of kings and of queens, of love and of loss and most of all of magic.

"Never forget little beauty," her father always used to say at the end of a story, "You have magic in you as well." When she closed her eyes Roxy could remember the way his deep voice used to lull her to sleep. She truly used to believe what he said.

All the magic in the world died however, when her father was diagnosed with lymphoma. After six long hard years, her father finally admitted defeat. As the end neared he wrote her one last story.

But Roxy was seventeen by that time and had just lost the most important person in her life. She didn't care for fairy tales any longer. She did keep his final story with her as she moved on with her life.

When vampires came out of the coffin, Roxy wondered if her father had known, as he always seemed to so firmly believe that there was more to the myths of the supernatural kind.

She had promised herself she would read his final story when his death hurt just a bit less. Five years later the story still remained untouched.

If she had read the story, she might have believed her father was crazy, or perhaps a small part of her might question the world as she knew it. After all, vampire's were real and that left the door open for many other things to be real as well. But her being one of those things? That would be a stretch.

Or so she would have thought had she read his final story.

It was truly unfortunate had not read it. If she had, she may have had a small clue as to what was about to happen.

Not that it would have helped her much.

* * *

Having the King of Texas in his home reminded Godric how much he detested everything to do with politics. How he had ever been convinced to take the position of sheriff was a mystery.

Christophe had brought along his guards and several humans from his menagerie on his parade around the areas of his kingdom. The pomp of it all made Godric's fangs ache.

The King of Texas had been made vampire in the late fifteenth century shortly before Columbus had taken off on his unexpected journey to the New World.

In physical appearance he was very close to Godric's own physical age. But the ginger haired vampire showed very little of the maturity his years had given him. It was a tactic common among vampires of youthful appearance. Christophe played it up a bit more than most however.

The raging party now occurring in Godric's nest was a prime example of this. Midway through the festivities the king caught the older vampire's eye and nodded toward the stairs that lead up to Godric's quarters.

Taking the hint Godric moved across the room and knew the king would soon follow. He entered his study, leaving the door open for the king. The monarch sat in one of the armchairs in front of the desk, as Godric settled behind it.

The king was quiet for a moment. "Before I ascended to my throne it was made very clear to me by the Authority that they would have much preferred you in my place," Christophe began, his voice lilting. "I know that you could take my place if you so wished it, which is why you are now the only one of my sheriffs that I trust. " Christophe swirled the glass of blood he had brought with him and took a sip. "I know that Marshal was smart enough to recruit others and keep their identities a secret, even from each other, but he was not smart enough to start this on his own." He paused as if to wait for Godric to say something, but when the elder vampire didn't speak up he continued.

"I want you to investigate the others. You can do it much easier than I. The other sheriffs think that you are too far removed from the stage of politics to be a threat. I know you are completely apathetic to my plight, and even an official command would motivate you very little. So I brought some motivation for you." He pulled a thumb drive from the inside pocket of his suit and tossed it onto Godric's desk.

"What is this?"

"Proof that one of the sheriff's of Louisiana has been dealing vampire blood." Godric's face stilled. "This particular sheriff should be of interest to you, after all he is your child. It would be a shame if the Magister were to become involve-"

Rage like he had not felt in decades flooded Godric and before he knew what he was doing he had his king pressed against the shelves that lined the wall opposite the windows of his office.

"Do not threaten my child," Godric snarled, fangs bared and consequences of his actions damned.

Christophe smirked at the passion the usually emotionless vampire showed, not really perturbed by his position. Lifting a hand he traced the enraged vampire's jaw line. "Happy to see you can still feel something, and these fangs of yours haven't gotten rusty." The smirk fell from his lips a second later though, "Now I am willing to overlook this…fit, but I suggest you not repeat it." Disgusted with his loss of control Godric dropped the king and stepped back. The king continued, "Should I meet an untimely end, copies of that will turn up in the Magister's hands."

"Such motivation is unnecessary my liege," Godric said, his voice surprisingly level but the term of honor held a certain bite to it.

"I told you Godric, you are the only one I trust, but one can always do with a bit of insurance." At that moment the music downstairs lulled between songs. If it hadn't Godric might not have heard the click of the trigger being pulled. He wouldn't have had time to shove the king down as glass shattered and bullets ripped through his upper shoulder as he moved, splattering his blood across the shelves.

Yells from downstairs could be heard as Godric covered the vampire who had just threatened the livelihood of his child. The door to his study was torn open as two guards zipped in.

"I'm fine," Christophe said raising his hand to ward them away, before they could pull the older vampire off of him. "Godric?" The Sheriff of Nine rose stiffly.

"They were silver coated with a wooden core. I am fine, but there is one or two still in me." He pushed back the pain as he stood.

"Find them. I will be safe with Godric, we will move into a room with no windows," Christophe commanded as both he and his savior moved through the doorway that led to the bedroom, closing the door behind them. Godric grimaced in pain wishing he could go after the shooter himself. With the existence of those files though, he wasn't going to let the king out of his sight with an assassin so close.

Neither vampire noticed that on the shelf now riddled with several bullets and sprayed with Godric's blood, the medallion with the red stone in it began to pulse with light.

* * *

The ringing of her cell phone woke Roxy from a sweet dream involving no consequence ice cream and cheesecake. Groaning and looking at the clock she threw off her covers and ruffled her hair.

Her nap had been deeply satisfying and she would have given her right arm to continue it, but it was not to be.

"What?" she asked, answering the phone.

"Don't what me! Have you even started getting ready?"

"Lena…"

"Don't Lena me either. We are going to this club," Lena commanded. Roxy sighed, knowing her best friend would not be taking no for an answer tonight.

"I haven't seen Cal in over a week Lena, and he has the night off."

"Fine, your boyfriend can come too, but you are going out tonight Roxana, I don't want to hear any excuses. I'm headed over to yours, can you at least be dressed when I get there?"

"What, you're not going to play Barbie?"

Lena chuckled, "No, I trust you to dress yourself. Your makeup on the other hand…"

"I will see you in a bit I need to call Cal." She hung up the phone before saying goodbye.

Going out tonight didn't sound all that bad. She hadn't been out with Lena in months, ever since taking the extra summer TA position for Professor Banks.

She dialed Calvin's number as she rummaged through her closet.

"Hey," he answered, "I just got off, how about I swing by and pick up some Chinese before coming over?"

"About that…"

"Roxy," he groaned, "I haven't seen you in a week, please don't tell me Professor with a foot up his ass is making you run numbers for the experiment again."

"No," she refuted, feeling like a bad girlfriend. She really did miss Cal, but school and now this research position had always been a priority and he knew that. "It's Lena. She wants me to come out. Her birthday is the week after next and I will be at a conference in Seattle with Banks." She could hear him swear away from the speaker and added, "He doesn't have a foot up his ass he is just particular and you know things aren't going well the-"

"Yes, yes, the data sets aren't matching the lab in Austen you told me over the coffee we had for fifteen minutes the last time I saw you."

Roxy smiled. She was surprised that he had been listening to her babble. "Please Cal come with me tonight," she pleaded.

"Alright, alright! Do you want me to pick up anything?"

"Some of that cheesy garlic bread from Gino's please. Chinese never sits well when I drink."

"Kay, I will be there in twenty," he hesitated before asking, "Will Lena be there with you?"

Roxy tugged her dark springy mass of hair in frustration. Lena was her best friend, had been since they roomed together freshman year of undergrad. This year was the first year they had decided to live apart since. Roxy needed to remain close to campus well she was in graduate school and Lena had secured an apartment with some of their other friends closer to the suburbs where her internship was.

Cal had been ecstatic when he found that Roxy would be living alone. Neither Calvin nor Lena really liked each other, which caused Roxy stress to no end. Lena was her best friend, but Cal had been there when her dad died and she had been dating him for nearly five years now. She loved them both, but the two fought like cats and dogs whenever they were in the same room.

"Yes she will be here, and play nice," hanging up before she could hear him voice another complaint.

Grabbing a short red dress with a sweet heart neckline and under things she padded her way to the bathroom.

Turning on the shower, she let it heat before climbing in.

Letting the hot water pound against her tense shoulders she sent up a silent prayer that everything would go smoothly and there would be no blood drawn by the end of the night.

Unfortunately for Roxana there was to be nothing smooth about this night, especially not for her.

* * *

Notes: Comments make me smile.


	3. Mr Sandman

Godric couldn't help but stare at the little red jewel set in the gold disk as he sat in his cage.

He wasn't sure what had prompted him to take it with him from the nest when he offered himself. Perhaps so that it didn't fall into the wrong hands while he was in captivity, but from what he had read, even if someone else did pick it up, it was bound to him for as long as he existed. However, if everything went as he planned he was not going to exist for very much longer.

He knew he should call her. She would no doubt be affected somehow when he finally met the True Death. The old vampire only hoped that this would secure her freedom.

Roxana…

He owed her a great deal. He wasn't sure if it was a regret, but he half wished that he had gotten more time with her. She was amusing. Her passion and drive were thrilling to watch and her energy was contagious.

She had a zest for life that came with youth, something that he was long past.

He idly wondered if she would be angry with him, for choosing to die. Would she try to convince him to not meet the sun?

There was a swoosh of air and a body thumped to the ground next to him.

He didn't have to turn his head to know that the object of his thoughts had just plopped into existence beside him.

"Still haven't quite go the hang of that," he observed.

She laughed, "No not qui- Umm Godric? Why are we in a cage?"

* * *

It was an unexpected situation to be in. Roxy blinked. Tapped it on the arm, and retreated quickly in case it reacted.

She had already shouted at it and yet it lay unmoving. After observing this data Roxy decided she was ready to hypothesize.

Theory A: The body lying on the bed was indeed a corpse. She had nothing to worry about other than how she had come to be locked in a windowless bedroom with a corpse, dressed only in a hospital gown and her undergarments.

Theory B: This unmoving body lying on the bed was actually a sleeping vampire. If so it must be daytime now, and she had everything to worry about, but what she was wearing was no longer so important.

If asked Roxy would readily admit she was pulling for Theory A. Now the question was if she was daring enough to test her two options. How had her life come to this? Well she didn't exactly know the answer to that. It was sure to be an interesting story, as she was now contemplating physically opening a possibly sleeping vampire's mouth and if she had to stick her fingers in she would. Someone upstairs or down was laughing at her, she just knew it.

Breathing deeply and preparing for her short life to come to a quick end, Roxy extended an arm over the sleeping vampire's face and promptly smacked him across the cheek. Quickly she scuttled to the other end of the room. No reaction.

Roxy repeated the mantra of 'please be a corpse' over and over again as she returned to the bedside to complete her test. Grasping his chin with one hand, she pressed her other hand to his forehead in order to keep it immobile. Taking another breath for courage she attempted to open its mouth.

No such luck. His jaw remained unmoved.

Thinking about all the crime procedurals she had ever seen she wondered if this was rigor mortis. She tried again, this time applying much more force. If it was a corpse she would be sorry for disturbing it and if it was a vampire, well then she would probably be dead soon anyway.

His jaw moved a smidgen, opening wide enough to allow perhaps a finger or too.

Nothing was going her way it seemed. Trying not to think about what she was about to do she inserted her finger into its mouth.

There, smooth and embedded in the skin of the roof of the mouth lay the answer to her question.

Theory B then.

* * *

When old vampires woke, they did so slowly, the pull of the sun waning from them sooner, but more gradually than the young. Their consciousness retuned to them in waves.

So before Godric was fully prepared to return to the land of the living his mind buzzed with activity. The king had decided that it would be best to take shelter at Hotel Carmilla. Leaving Godric's nest rather quickly once the hunt for the assassin came up with nothing.

The Sheriff of Area Nine informed his two deputies of what had occurred, purposely leaving out the king's blackmail scheme and instructed them to empty the nest of everyone and suggested that perhaps they too should seek to die for the day elsewhere. Both had chosen to stay at his side.

The thump of a beating heart and the tell tale sounds of someone breathing alerted him to the fact that his secure bedroom was no longer so secure. His senses, always the last thing to awaken before his body became fully functional told him that he was not the only one in the room.

How odd. An assassin should know better than to enter a vampire's quarters so close to the sunset. Choosing the slightly more risky path he got up slowly, eyes seeking out the source of the heartbeat.

In a corner chair diagonal to the placement of his bed a small human woman was curled up. She was asleep. Godric blinked. Now this was truly curious, a situation he had never been in before. He observed her from a standing position, not getting too close, lest her subconscious recognize his presence.

Though, like most vampires Godric had lost the ability to tell exact human age, he would guess she was somewhere between eighteen and thirty.

She looked rather ill, which would account for the hospital gown she was wearing. There were dark smudges around her eyes and stains of the same on her cheeks. A faint smell of blood hung about her too, but it was mostly covered by the smell of chemicals. She had definitely been in a hospital recently.

Her hair, dark, yet not quite black was cut short, to lie just above her shoulders and the springy curls were matted with sweat. The scent of blood was most likely coming from the crusted traces in the creases of her nose that was adorned with a small gold stud.

There was a certain snap to her scent. It lingered over almost everything else. It reminded Godric of the smell of the air when pressure changed and storms moved in.

It was the scent of magic and it clung to the sleeping woman more strongly than he had ever experienced before.

She could be a witch, but there were no other tells, no smell of herbs, no jewelry to announce such things, but she wasn't exactly dressed in the clothes of her choice. There were tattoos circling her wrists, but they were not any symbols he recognized that were related to witchcraft. They were in fact Arabic calligraphy. Over the years Godric had picked up several languages, but Arabic had not been one of them. He doubted very much that even if he could read the language he would be able to decipher what was written across her wrists.

But, if she was a witch, what was a witch doing in his bedroom? She must have come to be here by magical means as there was no other way to gain access to his safe-room once it was sealed other than by force and looking at the panel of the wall that was the disguised door and security pad he could see there was nothing amiss.

And, if she had gone through all the trouble of spiriting herself into his room, why was she asleep, and why was he still alive? Given the recent assassination attempt he could not think of another more plausible reason for a witch to magic herself into his sleeping chamber. Her state of dress was... a little confusing he conceded.

He stepped closer, silently. The woman didn't stir. From her breathing pattern and the minute movements of her eyelids Godric assumed she was in one of the deeper stages of sleep.

Could this all be just a strange accident, the mistake perhaps of an inexperienced practitioner. He retreated to a sitting position on the bed. The sun would fully set in less than an hour. The vampire wondered just what to do with the woman.

Her presence would not be missed by his lieutenants when they woke. Though the king would not return, there would no doubt be investigators of the Authority coming to inquire about the events of the previous night. He wondered if an assassination attempt on a king would warrant the visit of a chancellor.

If Nora was a part of the inquiry he would be compelled to ask her if there was anything she could do for Eric.

Thinking of his first child the anger that was stirred in him last night flared to life. He had been silly to imagine himself beyond such an emotion.

His Viking was now over a thousand years old and Godric had taught him that the blood was sacred. There were very few things that Godric had deemed sacred in his early days. The blood was one of the few. It was part of the reason it had taken him so long to create a child.

Eric had many failings, loyalty was not among them. There must be something else going on that would prompt him to sell vampire blood. Leaving proof of his transgressions however, that was very unlike Eric. Maybe his first-made was growing complacent in his old age. Godric knew the king would not turn over this blackmail material as he later promised. He would hang this over Godric's head as long as the information could hurt Eric, and by hurting Eric, hurt Godric.

Yet another reason to leave it all behind.

The woman's heartbeat began to speed up, and her breath pattern changed slightly. She was waking. Her lips parted and a groan escaped them. Her body shifted on the chair, as if she were fighting to stay asleep.

Finally, her eyelids fluttered open. Light brown eyes blinked to clear the fog of sleep, but when they landed upon his face, he could see them sharpen and then widened.

Her heartbeat skyrocketed. The scent of fear, thick and nearly tangible permeated the room.

Godric decided he would put the young woman out of her misery, as she seemed very uncomfortable with her current position. "Hello," he greeted softly.

The woman's mouth fell open in shock. After a beat of tongue flailing she finally responded questioningly, "Hello?"

Though neither of them knew it, those two words were the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

Notes: They meet. Comments make me smile.


	4. Who's That Creepin'

There was no way this was possible she thought.

_Tell me a story daddy._

There must be some other explanation. The vampire, Godric, he had to be wrong.

_What kind of story Roxana?_

She refused to meet his gaze just as she refused to acknowledge the burning of her wrists.

_What happened to him daddy?_

He was trying to prove his point and she was trying to prove him wrong. Her wrists were bleeding now.

_To who darling?_

He wrapped a warm damp towel around her aching wrists, as her brain tried to make sense of what this meant, of how this could be.

_Is he free now daddy?_

The vampire was being extraordinarily kind about this whole ordeal. When she finally me his soft gaze, she saw something she wasn't expecting in their blue green depths. Empathy.

_Daddy?_

* * *

They watched each other, until the vampire across from the human finally decided to break the silence once again.

"My name is Godric." His voice was soft, but there was iron in it. He kept his eyes on her as if he was waiting for something. "Please, tell me your name."

Before she even considered answering him, her own name came tumbling from her lips with an urgent force. "Roxana Tahan."

His lips upturned in a slight smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you Roxana."

Roxy couldn't withhold the humorless and hysterical laugh that shook her. "I would be lying if I said the same." A beat after she said it, her eyes widened in shock at her own brazenness. He is a vampire that can snap your neck in a second Roxana, she thought. Don't be stupid.

A crinkle around his eyes was all that showed he didn't mind her candor. "How did you come to be here?"

Roxy sighed. She really didn't have an answer to that question. One moment she was washing her face from throwing up in a hospital room toilet, wishing for something to stop the pain and the next moment it was as if the ground beneath her feet evaporated and she fell, landing in this strange bedroom.

A very strange bedroom it was, since there were no windows and the only door she could find seemed much more suited for Fort Knox. Oh, and the whole dead boy on the bed thing that in the end turned out to be a vampire. She had been absolutely exhausted and while she sat in the armchair awaiting her fate she must have drifted off.

"I don't know how I got here. I don't even know where I am."

"You are in my home, in Dallas Texas," he informed her.

"What!" she exclaimed in surprise. "I'm in Texas!" The revelation only seemed to fill her with more unease, which given her current situation was quite an achievement. Roxy's breathing began to increase in rate. She had traveled over a thousand miles in the blink of an eye. That just wasn't right. Her breathing wheezed as her throat seemed to constrict.

"Roxana, please, calm down. As long as you are forthcoming with me and mean me, nor anyone under my protection harm I will promise to see that you are returned to where you belong safely," Godric promised.

Her body obeyed his command nearly instantly. Roxy's breathing returned to normal. Taking another couple of breaths she nodded. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him, but the dark haired young woman didn't really have any other options.

Taking a last deep breath she began with her clearest memory, "I got ready to go out. Lena, a friend of mine, Calvin, my boyfriend, and I met another friend at a club," she paused for a moment, "It was called Euphoria, I think. It was my first time there. It's in Philly." She wet her lips before she continued. "I was talking to Lena and Marie at a table, Cal wasn't there," her hand rose to her chest, "Then my chest began to hurt. It was so sharp and sudden. I got up to go to the bathroom, they are usually a bit cooler. But the pain...it only got worse."

She frowned trying to remember what had happened in the bathroom."I think I passed out. Everything is hazy after that. I can remember lights shining in my face, and someone repeating my name. The next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital room." She gestured to her state of dress. "My head was killing me and when I got up I needed to…well vomit." There was a flicker of distaste on the vampire's face at this and Roxy wondered if human bodily functions disturbed them. "After that, I was trying to clean myself up, but the pain just wouldn't quit. Then I was falling, my vision went and suddenly I was here."

Godric leaned back as she finished her tale. Roxy wondered what he thought of it. She certainly hoped that he believed her, because she wasn't exactly sure she could believe it herself and she had lived it.

"That is...intriguing," he finally said. He stood and made his way to a section of the wall Roxy assumed was a door. Opening a panel Roxy caught sight of a screen, which he put his hand on it. The door slid open. Roxy blinked in surprise. Well hello, Double O Fang she thought. He turned back to her and simply said, "Stay." The door had opened into some sort of anteroom.

Roxy couldn't help but feel a bit angry. She wasn't a dog. As she heard his footsteps drift off she stood up wanting to get a better look outside the room she had been trapped in. As soon as she stood up her wrists began to itch. Looking down at them she remembered that they were another mystery to add to the steadily growing list.

When she had woken up in the hospital she had woken up to an incredible headache and these tattoos. At first she had wondered what sort of high jinks she had gotten up to the previous night, but Roxy knew she would never get a tattoo written in Arabic. Her father, though originally from Saudi had never taught her how to speak or write Arabic, allowing Roxy's Persian mother to teach her Farsi instead. The two written languages were very similar, since they both used the Arabic alphabet, but even if she could recognize some of the letters the artistic design of the tattoo kept her from ascertaining any meaning.

Taking another step Roxy groaned. Her legs felt like lead suddenly and the itch of her wrists became a burn. Her body urged her backwards into the chair, and she collapsed into it just as she heard footsteps make their way back towards the bedroom. Breathing as if she had just exerted herself Roxy looked up to see Godric with an armful of clothing. He set it down on the bed then opened another panel door on the other side of the room to reveal a bathroom.

"You can clean up and change. We will talk more after you are finished. I must inform the others of your presence."

"Others?" she questioned, feeling decidedly nervous at the prospect of meeting other vampires.

Godric caught her eye again. "I keep my promises, but please do not wander from this room. The others will not harm you, but there has been a recent attack on this home and the we are all in an anxious state."

Roxy nodded. She would remain as quiet as a church mouse if it meant she could get home.

* * *

_No little beauty. None of us are free._

* * *

Godric met Isabel and Stan in the kitchen. His day-man Frank was also present.

Frank handed Godric a manila file folder. "Here are the bills for the work done on your windows. Everything has been fixed as you no doubt saw. The emergency day guards spoke to me when they clocked out, there was nothing amiss outside in the daylight," the Texan reported.

No there was nothing amiss outside, he thought. "Thank you, I know your daughter's birthday is tomorrow, take the day off, and here," Godric slipped an envelope across the island towards him. "A show appreciation of your work." Frank looked as if he was about to refuse the vampire's gift. "I recall you mentioning she wanted a new saddle for jumping."

The bearded man accepted the envelope. With a grateful smile and nod he turned and made for the front door.

The vampires waited till the door shut before speaking again.

Isabel with laptop in front of her was the first to speak, "An Inquisitor is being sent by the Authority. First they will speak to the king, and after if there is time they will come here."

In his office his cell phone vibrated.

"Well?" Stan questioned. Ancient eyes turned to the stetson wearing vampire. "What's the human doing in your rooms?" Isabel rolled her eyes at his question. Godric's reaction was not as passive.

In less than a second his hand was wrapped around his underling's throat and his fangs were bared. "You question me?" The ancient vampire's voice could not be more threatening if he had snarled. In his old age Godric had come to detest violence. He acknowledged however, that some individuals only responded to acts of dominance. Stan was one of these individuals. "I should be ripping your fangs out for orchestrating the death of the Newlin family." A gurgle sounded from Stan's throat. "Did you really think it would escape my notice? You disobeyed a direct order." He shoved the larger vampire away and let him regain his composure. "Do not do it again."

He zipped from the room to answer his phone upstairs. "Godric," Christophe's voice came through the line. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't answer me."

"I was just dealing with a disobedient underling your majesty."

The monarch made a sound of distaste. "How unfortunate. I would think that the vampire's under you would have unwavering loyalty to you and our laws." It was direct slap to his face to remind him of Eric's precarious situation.

Godric wanted to hang up, but he resisted the childish impulse. "You would think," he agreed instead.

"I just wanted to let you know that I will not be informing the Authority of the conspiracy brewing against me. Be a dear and don't mention it."

"If that is your wish."

"It is. The Inquisitor will be visiting you tomorrow night as I intend to show my hospitable side. And, please keep me informed of your investigation into the matter we were discussing before we were so rudely interrupted."

"Of course," Godric answered but the king had already hung up. "Stan I want you out of the nest tonight." He said it loud enough that it would be heard over the bickering of the two downstairs.

"Yes, Sheriff," came the resigned reply.

"Isabel," he called. She was before him in an instant, laptop still in hand. "Get me a video conference with Sheriff Blue Leaf." She nodded, but before he stopped her, "The human is not to be touched and do not mention her presence here to anyone."

The ancient vampire sat down in his desk chair, contemplating his next move. Soft footsteps drew his eyes from the hole they were boring in his mahogany desk.

Dressed in sweats, smelling of his preferred soap and looking much better than she had before, Roxana stepped into his office timidly. "I left the hospital gown in the bathroom, I wasn't sure what to do with it," she looked distinctly out of place, even dressed in plain clothes with make up no longer smeared across her face and her curls weighted down with water.

"I will take care of it."

Isabel walked into his office again, "I have Sheriff Blue Leaf for you."

Godric made introductions between the two women, "Isabel this is Roxana, Roxana this is Isabel, my second."

Isabel looked the rather fearful human up and down and greeted her, "Pleasure."

The curly haired young woman answered with a bob of her head. "Roxana, I must attend to something. My apologies our talk will have to wait," he turned to address Isabel, "Can you please find something for Roxana to eat."

He was making to leave the office, when Roxana stepped into his path. "Sorry I don't want take up your time, but do you think I could perhaps use a phone?" she requested with trepidation. "I left the hospital without informing my friends or family you see and they may be worried about me."

He considered her for a moment. Her gaze was steady. Trust me her eyes asked. "Isabel."

"I will take care of it."

Moments later he was in the conference room. He unmuted the video and sound feed.

"Ah Godric," Sheriff Blue Leaf greeted once the video kicked on. "Some people have all the fun. First outspoken vampire haters suffer a tragic accident, igniting human on vampire violence in your area, and now an assassination attempt!" Blue Leaf chuckled. "You puttin' something in the water in Dallas, or are you just lucky?"

"I would gladly give up some of the excitement."

"I'll bet. What can I do for you this fine evening?"

"I hear there are witches in your area."

The Sheriff of Area Six blinked in surprise. She had not expected him to want to speak of witches. "Yeah, they're of no consequence though, no real fire power among them. Nothing for us to be worried about anyway."

"I would like to meet them," he said, ignoring her questioning look. "Tonight."

* * *

Notes: Comments make me smile. After re-watching some episodes of True Blood, I decided Godric wasn't as passive as I first thought he was, ergo he got a little physical with Stan and the king. Let me know what ya think.


	5. She's Gone

Pam watched them with curious eyes. Fangtasia was not quite full that night, but it was decent for a Wednesday.

After hearing from Eric that Godric had attached himself to human Pam had been quite interested in meeting the little breather. Eric had told her that she hadn't been much to look at, but even when he said it Pam had heard the bitterness in his voice.

Eric was jealous and Pam was even more curious.

She had met her grandsire only twice, once when Eric had presented his newly made progeny and once more when Godric had visited Eric, but that had been nearly eight decades ago.

But her granddaddy had left a distinct impression on Pam that she had been hesitant to share with Eric. Godric was used up. She saw it in the older girls and once in awhile in the younger ones who worked for her. When there wasn't much left in them they would either retire or just disappear.

Godric's face was a placid as ever, but now it was more due to serenity than a lack of feeling. He sat with his human at a booth closer to the dance floor than the bar. The human girl at his side was not what Pam had been expecting.

Roxana, as Godric had introduced her was petite to be sure. Her features were Middle Eastern. Not really Pam's type, but she could appreciate the quality denim the girl was sporting and the way it fit over that curvy backside. A dark-red plain v-neck sweater showed she really didn't have much to offer upstairs.

The blonde vampire wondered if Godric was an ass-man.

What really struck her though, was the way the two looked at each other when the other was looking away. It truly was disgusting.

Going back to her work, Pam resisted the urge to gag. The two really just needed to fuck and get it over with.

* * *

The club was neither packed, nor empty. The drinks were average, but Roxy had never been a picky drinker when it came to hard liqueur. It all tasted like shit in her opinion. She was a red wine kind of girl, but that didn't mean she minded the occasional dip into the realm of spirits as long as it was nice and fruity.

The DJ, as Lena had promised was good and they had spent most the night dancing, Lena with whoever was closest or Marie, one of their other close friends and Roxy with Calvin.

Calvin had run into a buddy he worked with at the garage and was in a deep discussion about some car or another so they had decided to take a break at one of the tables away from the dance floor. Lena pinched Roxy's arm. "I told you that you would have fun tonight," she smirked tossing her platinum blonde ponytail over her shoulder.

Marie a peacekeeper at heart laughed at Lena's gloating. "Don't rub it in Le." Marie turned to Roxy and gave her a one armed hug around her bare shoulders. "I am really glad you came out tonight!"

"I know I have been busy, but I promise I will try to be better in the future."

Lena's smile turned a bit and she sighed, "I know both of you are busy and I can't even begin to describe how proud I am that you both got into the programs that you wanted. I guess I am a little bit jealous."

Roxy shook her head vigorously her head felt slightly fuzzy from the alcohol. "Don't be! We're idiots, right Marie?" she looked to her dark haired friend for confirmation. Marie nodded and downed the rest of her drink. "I don't know what I was thinking going for my Master's before I even had any work experience under my belt. And Marie, well sorry honey, but you will be in school far longer than me, what were you thinking?" she giggled.

Marie snorted, the alcohol also making her giddy, "I wasn't. I mean who goes to school to be a doctor anymore."

"Not just a doctor, a surgeon that is sooo much worse," Roxy corrected. She turned back to Lena, "You on the other hand secured a paid internship with one of the top advertising firms in the country, on your portfolio alone!"

Lena smiled at her obviously intoxicated friend. "I do have good news," she revealed. Both the other girls leaned forward in anticipation. "I did a design for a campaign recently. I wasn't going to submit it or anything not that I could have if I wanted to being only an intern. One of the managers noticed it on my desktop. He liked it so much he wanted to show it to the client." Marie squealed in delight. "That's not all. The client loved it. They are going to use it for their next line of magazine advertisements."

Marie and Roxy congratulated the blonde and she flushed at their praise. "What was it for?" Roxy asked.

Lena chuckled. "That's the real kicker." She paused for dramatic effect. "Dog food."

"Dog food?" Marie questioned.

"Dog food," Lena confirmed.

Roxy waved a hand, "Doesn't matter. Your work is going to be in a magazine. You are an awesome graphic artist and if you need start with dog food to get yourself out there so what."

Lena's beaming smile returned, "Why, thank you Master Engineer."

The curly haired woman groaned, "I thought you were done calling me that." She grimaced, but not because of the unwanted nickname. There was suddenly a sharp pain in her chest.

Marie, the would be doctor noticed her dark expression was not because of the nickname. "You ok?"

Roxy nodded, managing to clear her face. "Yeah, I am just gonna run to the bathroom quick."

"Do you want one of us to come with?" Lena asked. Roxy just shook her head not trusting herself to speak as the pain increased.

By the time she got to the bathroom she was sweating from the effort to keep herself standing upright. She felt like she was freezing and on fire at the same time. A buzzing in her ears was beginning to drown everything out. Roxy braced herself against the sink counter and tried to take deep breaths. The pain in her chest wasn't allowing her to breathe in deeply.

"Hey are you ok?" The question came from a group of girls busily fixing their makeup. "You don't look good," the red head nearest her said as she stepped forward.

A trickle of blood ran out of her nose, as the buzzing became all she could hear. Roxy didn't even feel herself fall as her vision turned black.

* * *

Roxy wasn't sure how long they had been flying, but she was pleased when she felt them begin to descend.

She clutched her ride a little tighter as their orientation in the sky changed and closed her eyes as her stomach dropped.

Her mind ran over the events of the past day. She had passed out at a club, woke up in a hospital, somehow broke through space and time to teleport into the bedroom of a vampire with some sort of authority and now she had rode piggy back style as that very same vampire took her to see witches. Witches.

If there was any more excitement to this night, she might just collapse again. Roxy had gotten both Lena's and Cal's voicemails when she had called them. She told them she was at her mom's home and not to worry. Hopefully they wouldn't contact the hospital. She then had called her mother who thankfully had not heard anything. Her mom had been surprised at the call, and they had chatted for a few minutes before saying goodnight.

The cold hands that gripped her legs squeezed lightly. "Roxana, we have landed." She slipped down his back with some grace and stepped around to see where exactly they had landed.

They were out in farm country and there were no streetlights about, but Roxy could see by the light of the moon and the few lights around the house in front of them. It was an old farmhouse that had been kept up rather well. Not exactly what she was expecting.

She looked up to Godric. "Witches live here?" she asked.

"I'm not quite sure, but this is where they have asked us to meet them," he answered.

They began walking to the farmhouse, the gravel crunched beneath their feet. "And you can just up and ask for witches to meet you in the middle of some random night?"

Godric chuckled, "No, but I called in a favor with another sheriff." She frowned, as that didn't quite answer her question. "Witches and vampires have never been on good terms, but once in a while vampires have been known to procure the services of witches."

"I see." She didn't really, but there was very little she understood about this whole situation. This was crazy. Her footsteps faltered and the vampire next to her slowed as well.

"Roxana?"

She looked up at him. His expression was soft and kind. "I just, I am having a hard time with all of this. I mean I had never even met a vampire till you, and now I'm on the other side of the country having just flown to meet witches to figure out how I somehow was teleported into your bedroom." The words fell from her lips in a rush. "I just, I can't."

Roxy wrapped her arms around herself trying to find some form of comfort.

The vampire watched her carefully before speaking. "I understand it is a lot to take in. The past few nights have been more eventful than I am used to as well."

He was trying to cheer her up. It was sweet and she was momentarily distracted by something he had said earlier. "Yeah, you mentioned about an attack on your home before," she probed.

Godric's expression darkened slightly and he turned his head to look toward the house. "We should continue. We don't have much time. I need to be back at the nest before sun up."

Licking her lips she nodded. "Of course, we're off to see the Wizard," she said and continued forward.

"Witches," Godric corrected.

Roxy stared at him with an incredulous look. "As in the _Wizard of Oz_." There was no recognition in his eyes. "Seriously? Oh, you need to brush up on your pop culture."

Before the vampire was able to respond they had come to the front stoop. Stepping up Godric rapped the storm door solidly.

There was some shuffling and some voices on the other side before the inner door was opened to reveal an unremarkable looking man most likely in his forties.

"I take it you're the vampire." His Texas accent was thick as his eyes took in both Godric and Roxy.

"Yes, my thanks for meeting us on such short notice," Godric said with a nod of appreciation.

"Don't be rude Mark, let them in," a voice called from inside.

"Please, come in," Mark said, his smile somewhat pained. He certainly wasn't happy about this whole entire thing from what Roxy could see.

It was quaint inside with floral wallpaper and old hardwood floors. The sweet smell of freshly baked cookies wafted from further into the house as Mark showed them to the dining room.

A woman dressed in an apron, jeans and a plain t-shirt appeared through the swinging door, most likely leading to the kitchen and set down a plate of cookies. She was probably around Mark's age with a few stray gray hairs cropping up in her rich brown hair.

She straightened with a bright smile that fell from her face once she caught sight of Roxana. "Oh my," she said, walking over to the overwhelmed young woman. "Well I'll be, you're as bright as the sun."

Roxy thought that was a compliment. "Umm thank you?"

"Well now, let me see you." She reached out grasping both of Roxana's hands and closing her eyes. Roxy blinked; obviously the woman meant some other type of seeing. She sent a questioning look over her shoulder at Godric who shrugged minutely. The woman's eyes snapped back open suddenly and looked at Godric and then back at Roxy. "Oh but honey, how did you get yourself blood bound to a vampire?" There was a ding from the kitchen. "Oh that'll be the next batch." She flitted off, back into the kitchen leaving an incredibly confused room of people behind her.

Roxy turned to face Godric who looked as shocked as she thought was possible for him. "Blood bound?"

* * *

Notes: Comments make me smile. The next chapter might take a bit more time than my recent rapid firing of updates.


	6. Bad Moon Rising

Having him in her apartment was weird. He was so out of place.

His plain clothes didn't match the peacock themed mural Lena had painted on one wall or the colorful knick-knacks she had collected over the years that covered most of the available surface space.

Her tiny studio just didn't contain his otherworldly presence very well. He was in her kitchenette concocting something, which truly scared her. She couldn't imagine what a 2000 year-old vampire could know about cooking.

Roxy coughed violently. Her entire body shook with the force of it. God she hated being sick. But then she highly doubted anyone found any joy in it.

He had called her on the phone to tell her of a new discovery and when she told him she was sick he had sounded curious. A little bit of magic later Godric was in her kitchen making something and being secretive.

Finally just before the cake and dressmaking scene of _Sleeping Beauty_ Godric took the couple required steps from the kitchen to the bedroom/living area. He carried a mug of steaming something that smelled strongly of lemon and set it down gently on the coffee table/night stand.

Roxy blinked at it as if it would bite her. Looking up at Godric's eager expression, which was only slightly different than his normal expression, she set aside her laptop.

Obliging him, she took a sip and was surprised and satisfied at the heat that slid down her throat. There was some top quality booze in the drink.

"It is called a hot toddy. Isabel made it for her human when he was sick once."

"It's very good."

His eyes crinkled as a small but beautiful smile lit up his face. Roxy's own mouth couldn't help but return the gesture. He went on to explain the properties of the drink and why it should soothe her cold symptoms. Roxy wasn't paying attention really. She kept repeating what Godric had said in her mind.

_Isabel made it for her human…_

Roxy suddenly realized she wouldn't mind being referred to as Godric's human. Heat crept into her cheeks that had nothing to do with the alcoholic beverage she was sipping on.

* * *

Blood bound. The words repeated in his mind over and over again. How could that be? He had never given his blood to her. In fact the only two people that Godric had ever given blood to were his two children. He rarely even applied it topically to heal humans. The blood was sacred.

The witch's re-entrance cut through his attempts to recollect any other time he had given away his blood. The woman set another plate of cookies on the table and a pitcher of milk.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, smoothing out her apron. "I forgot my manners earlier. My name is Margret. This is my husband Mark. We prefer to only deal in first names." She held out her hand across the table to Roxana.

"Roxy." The two shook and the older woman looked to him expectantly.

"Godric," he supplied.

Margret smiled brightly. "Please sit," she said while doing so herself. She took the glass in front of Roxana's seat and poured out some milk from the pitcher. "Now you'll have to forgive me Godric. I didn't have any True Blood in the house and your call came far too late for the stores to be open."

"That's quite all right, I'm not thirsty, but please, what did you mean when you said Roxana was blood bound to me?"

Margret had stacked a small plate full of cookies and set it front of the human sitting across from her next to the glass now full of milk. "Well, someone worked a binding spell, but why do you both seem so surprised? I mean, isn't that why you came here?"

Godric's superior hearing picked up the quickening of Roxana's hear and breathing. She was beginning to panic again. "No we were not aware of the binding spell."

"Oh, well that is quite strange." She eyed Godric suspiciously for a moment. Irritation rose in him.

Mark, who had noticed both Roxana's anxiety and Godric's ire, took one of his wife's hands in his own. "Why don't we just let them tell their story?"

Godric made eye contact with Roxana and nodded at her. Taking a deep breath she explained what had happened to her in the last 24 hours. "Oh, and I forgot to mention this to you earlier," she said to Godric next to her. She pulled her arms out from underneath the table and pushed up the sleeves of the borrowed sweatshirt. "I didn't have these before I woke up in the hospital, and I am pretty sure I didn't go to a tattoo parlor between when I passed out at the club and when I woke up in the hospital."

Margret sighed softly as she looked at the younger woman's wrists and Godric wondered if she understood what the markings said and asked.

"No, I don't know what they say, but I know what it means. Oh, this is very unfortunate."

"Unfortunate," choked Roxana. He was betting that wasn't something that the young woman wanted to hear right now.

"Please can you explain how this came about? Neither of us recall a spell being cast and I can assure you neither of us is lying." The curly haired young woman looked at him in surprise, no doubt slightly taken aback by his confidence in her. Godric was sure of her honesty. There was no smell of deceit on her and though scent wasn't always reliable, Godric had lived a long time. One became very good at telling truth from falsehood after so much practice.

"I don't doubt her story one bit." The fact Godric was left out of the statement didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the room. "It appears that there must have been a pre-existing binding spell in place and the conditions of the spell were met." Silence followed this statement.

Roxana appeared to be trying to make sense of this information. "How long ago?" she asked.

"I beg your pardon."

"I can't believe I am even saying things like this," Roxana groaned. "How long ago could the binding spell have been cast?" Margret looked thoughtful at the question. "I don't recall ever meeting a with, much less pissing one off enough to magically chain me to a vampire," she said, her voice rising as she spoke.

Godric followed where he thought she was going with this. "Is it possible it was cast on her bloodline?"

"I believe you are barking up the right tree," Margret agreed. "Yes it makes perfect sense."

Godric shifted as Roxana let out a hysterical laugh. "You're kidding right? None of this makes sense."

"No it does," Margret argued leaning forward. "You see you are bound to him, but not directly." She tapped the younger woman's tattooed wrist. "You are bound through an anchor." Roxana looked like she was about to explode at the witch for leaving out this particular detail, but stopped as Godric raised a pale hand. Margret continued. "Yes, an anchor, it's perfect. You see most likely your bloodline has been bound to it for some time. Binding spells using blood magic that also used anchors, in this day and age aren't just uncommon, they're unheard of. It is incredibly dark, old and complex magic. I don't think I know of a witch alive who is capable of something like this."

"Now we know where you were when the binding spell took effect," Margret waved a hand at the younger woman, "and since you are the subject of the spell that means you activated it somehow," she said looking pointedly at Godric. "What time was it when you began to feel pain?"

Roxana frowned. "It was probably around 1:00 in the morning."

"Well, did anything out of the ordinary happen around that time?" The question was posed to Godric.

He nodded, he still considered getting shot out of the ordinary. "I was shot."

"What?" Roxana exclaimed.

"There you go. I'm guessing your blood got on the anchor and triggered the spell. The anchor had to be near enough for that to happen."

"It's in my office," he realized out loud. Godric wasn't sure exactly what it was but it must have been on the shelves behind himself and the king.

"Good, you are going to need it if you want to break this spell, but…" Margret trailed off, looking toward her husband.

"What is it sweetheart?"

"I don't think I can break it. I'm sorry." Margret reached across the table to put a comforting hand on one of the younger woman's. "This spell is stronger than anything I've ever seen." Godric watched as Roxana's face seemed to shut down.

"Can she break it herself?" he asked.

"What, me?"

The witch shook her head. "The binding is…" she hesitated looking between the two, "one of subjugation. I can't be positive, but I'm betting that her magic would have no effect on it."

"Subjugation," Godric repeated, a cold feeling settling in him. Now he understood why the witch was suspicious of him.

"My magic? Ok, hold on just a damn minute!" Roxy came to her feet. "I do not have magic."

"Why of course you do!" Margret immediately rebutted. "You have more magic in you than anyone I have ever met before.

"But…how could I have never noticed it? I mean, shouldn't I have gotten a letter to Hogwarts when I turned eleven?"

"I really hate those books," Margret said under breath. "It is curious that it has never come out. With power such as yours it would have made itself known. The magic is practically seeping out of your pores."

Mark, who had been watching the young woman with a look of pity on his face, spoke up. "Is it possible that the spell on the anchor not only bound her to him, but also released her magic? From what I remember of my readings on person-to-person or person-to-object binding spells, they are not the most pleasant bits of magic, but the pain she described was quite sever. That much magic awakening in someone would have hurt, no?" Godric's eyebrows rose at his observation.

"It's completely possible and if I could see the anchor I might be able to confirm the theory."

"So…I'm a witch?" Roxy asked sitting back into her seat.

"No, you are something more than a witch," Margret stated. "Witches are humans that have maybe a drop or two of magic in them, maybe enough to see a glimpse of the future, or communicate with the dead. And, if trained and disciplined they may be able to work spells. You on the other hand, you are an ocean of magic. No normal human should have that much in them."

A silence fell on the room. Godric could tell that Roxana was nearing the end of her rope. After a few more minutes of Mark and Margret discussing the possibilities of what the anchor might be he decided it was time to leave. "I think it would be best if we took our leave now," he suggested and looked towards the troubled young woman next to him, who nodded numbly in agreement.

"Mark why don't you accompany Roxy out to get some fresh air, I want to speak with Godric for a moment." Her husband shot her a worried look that was pointedly ignored. When the front door shut behind the two the witch addressed the vampire in front of her, "The girl is powerful, even if she doesn't know how to use it quite yet. However, because of the nature of this spell she is completely at your mercy." The witch leaned forward. "Now I reckon you're the right kind of sort. You brought her here, instead of all the other options you had, r, "The girl is powerful, even if she doesn't know how to use it quite yet. However, because of the nature of this spell she is completely at your mercy."

Her expression darkened as she spoke and he could feel the air currents in the room shift to swirl around her.

"Just a drop you say?" She was far more powerful than she pretended. He wondered if Blue Leaf knew.

Margret leaned back with a sinister smile. "A drop is quite a bit when you know how to use it."

They landed back at the nest an hour before dawn. Godric lead Roxana inside without a word spoken between them. Godric observed the young woman in front of him and tried to understand her emotional state. It had been far too long since he was human.

He needed to communicate with her if they were going to figure this out, but knew that he needed to be careful. "I know you much be overwhelmed with all this."

"Oh you think so," she replied sarcastically. He could smell the salt of the tears she was trying to hold back. So much for being careful. "You know when you all," she waved a hand at him, "came out I questioned my life. I mean all of us did."

"Us," he asked.

"People who study science. I'm an engineer. We eat sleep and breathe scientific principles. I'm mostly concerned with their applications of course, but can you imagine how shattering your existence and what you're capable of was to us?" She was stared at him with wide eyes shining with moisture. "I mean we just flew for crying out loud." She turned away when she couldn't stop the tears from falling. "And now I find out that I'm some sort of fucking magical maybe-human bound to a vampire. Fuck, I spent four years stressed out to the point my body could barely function, always worried about homework and tests, and labs and wondering if I was smart enough for it all, if I deserved to be where I was. I struggled constantly to keep up with everything and I succeeded damn it!" She turned back around. Her cheeks were blotched and eyes were bloodshot, but now she was angry. "I fucking graduated and got into an amazing grad school program with a dream of a research position. But now all of that work seems meaningless, a fucking waste of time." She collapsed onto the couch. "Four years. That might not be long for you, but that is a damn good chunk of time for a human, maybe-human."

Godric approached her slowly, not wanting to set her off again. He gently sat down next to her and was about to say something when she started to speak again.

"I'm sorry I yelled, I know this can't be an ideal situation for you either." She let out a watery chuckle, "I can't imagine you want to have a human bound to you.

"It is not exactly ideal," he admitted and was surprised when his words caused her to laugh harder. Her rapidly changing emotions where highly confusing to him.

"I need to go home Godric. It'sMonday morning. I have to be at work in a couple of hours. Do you think…well do you think I can magic myself home?" She looked up at him with hope in her eyes and Godric couldn't help but marvel at her. First she apologized to him for breaking down and was considering how this was affecting him and now, after everything she was worried about going to work.

"It should be within the realm of possibility." Consciously or not it was how she had come to his nest to start with so she should be able to go back the same way.

She nodded and stood, wiping her cheeks of tears. "So… how do you think it works?"

"I am not sure this is a good idea. Many things could go wrong." She shot him a look that clearly said she knew that. "Well… I do not possess magic, but to fly it takes mental visualization, focus and energy," he explained.

She a spark of curiosity lit up in her eyes when he described how he flew, but she shook her head. "Ok visualization and focus got it." She closed her eyes and took a breath. After about a minute she opened them again. "I got nothing." Her face contorted into a frown at her failure.

Godric took in her the stubbornly set chin and realized she was trying to take back some of the control she felt she had lost by doing this. "Think about how you were feeling when you appeared in my bedroom."

"Besides the pain?"

"Yes."

She nodded relaxing her shoulders and closing her eyes again. It took a few more moments before he saw it on her face. The moment she grasped a bit of the magic in her, her face softened. The air in the room rustled and her mouth opened to gasp, but she was gone before he heard her intake of breath.

Godric stood in the empty living room. Slowly he turned and made his way up to his office. Time to find that anchor and put this whole ordeal behind him.

Unfortunately for Godric it wasn't going to be as simple as he thought.

* * *

Notes: So I cursed myself when I said that this update would be slower as I lost my Internet connection. I managed to post this through some trouble from my phone.

capmom: Thanks for your comment. I was worried that might be confusing or turn some people off. I'm glad you figured it out and have decided to continue reading.

Comments make me smile!


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